Description

From the estate of Frank "Lefty" O'Doul

1934 Tour of Japan Team Signed Cigarette Lighter
Baseball.
We all know that smoking is dangerous, but the true vintage
baseball fan must still show the addiction some grudging gratitude.
Without the siren's song of nicotine, the hobby would lack its
greatest trading card era, and Honus Wagner wouldn't be its million
dollar baby. But of course it was the Babe's ubiquitous cigar that
fueled his early demise from throat cancer, and we'd bet his
personal example of this unique Tour of Japan keepsake is the worse
for wear because of his habit.

O'Doul, however, was apparently not much of a smoker, considering
the evidence of the ball's remarkable condition. This specially
crafted keepsake from baseball's most noteworthy foreign excursion
exhibits a stunning absence of handling, missing a portion of the
lighter's mechanism but otherwise revealing no indication of use or
wear. While O'Doul may not share the Hall of Fame credentials of
the Tour's greatest stars, he's arguably the most significant
American in the history of Japanese baseball, enshrined in the
Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame and the man responsible for naming
the famed Tokyo Giants after his own ballclub in 1935.

It's interesting to note that this is a baseball custom-made for
its service as a cigarette lighter, a fact made apparent when
viewing the extra wide sweet spots of the sphere. One side sprouts
the stem of its lighting mechanism. The four panels bear
spectacularly preserved signatures from the following:

An unknown hand has penned "All American Japan Tour 1934" on
one panel. A light coating of shellac has preserved all autographs
at an 8/10 level or better. The first example we've encountered
since Lou Gehrig's personal model commanded $41,825 at our 2011
Chicago "Platinum Night" event. Full LOA from PSA/DNA. Full LOA
from James Spence Authentication.